Alistair Darling: No. 10 Unleashed Forces of Hell Against Me

By

Iain Martin

Feb 24, 2010 12:36 am GMT

I have said before that the Chancellor will have the most interesting set of late period New Labour memoirs if he chooses to write them when he leaves government. Team Darling put up with the most extraordinary level of sustained attacks and briefing from friends of the prime minister and Ed Balls (who wanted Darling’s job and thought he was going to get it). It will make a great book someday, possibly soon.

Now he’s given a fascinating taster to Jeff Randall in a remarkably candid Sky News interview (Iain Dale has the transcript). Darling was asked about being briefed against by Damian McBride and Charlie Whelan when he dared to give an interview in the summer of 2008 warning that this would be the worst recession for 60 years (which, er… it was). Of McBride and Whelan Darling said: “Frankly my best answer for them is the fact that I’m still here, one of them is not.”

McBride left Gordon Brown’s employ after the Draper email smears fandango. Whelan left Brown’s employ after his involvement in the downfall of Mandelson (his sworn enemy) in 1998 over that secret mortgage loan business. Now, he’s very much back as the powerful head of Unite’s political department and a close adviser to Brown again.

Darling then chose a remarkable form of words. After the interview in 2008, “the forces of hell were unleashed,” by which he acknowledged he meant No. 10 as well as the Tories.

This has given the bullying in No. 10 allegations flowing from the Rawnsley book a whole new lease of life. Gordon Brown will be absolutely delighted. If the prime minister went in for outrageous behavior he might go somewhat bananas about this, shouting and kicking the furniture. Luckily, we now know he just doesn’t do that sort of thing. So that’s OK then.